Science Channel Lines Up Seven New Series

Science Channel said at the Discovery Communications upfront in New York Tuesday (March 31) that it will continue to expand its originals slate, adding three new series later this year with four on tap for early 2016.

On May 2 Science Channel debuts Outrageous Acts of Psych, a spinoff of its Outrageous Acts of Science offering a scientific twist on the hidden-camera genre. This summer Science premieres Race to Escape, a competition reality show in which two teams of three strangers must figure out each week how to get out of a different locked-down location.

Scheduled to premiere in the fourth quarter is Secret Space Disasters; in eight hour-long episodes the series covers the "incredible near misses, close calls, unexpected encounters and dangerous discoveries in the history of human space travel," the network said.

New series set for "early 2016," according to the network, include (all titles are working titles): Short-Attention-Span Science, in which experts answer science's most curious questions in 163 seconds or less; svience-themed game show Geek Out or Freak Out; and Machine Men, a docu-series about a Macgyver-like team of engineers with a solution for everything.

Later in 2016 Science will premiere a tech-themed true-crime show, True Spy (w.t.), telling the behind-the-scenes stories of "spies who risked it all as they stole scientific secrets, carried out daring acts of sabotage and led double lives," the network said.

The network is also returning a number of originals over the next four quarters, including How It's Made, Survivorman and How They Do It.